New toilet options--worth it or not?

[Genny Li]

So I'm going to be replacing four clogging-prone toilets as I refresh the bathrooms, the first one being over Christmas because one student is leaving after finals and my own kid is actually moving into that room.

I've had good luck with Glacier Bay basic toilets in the past.  I also know I don't want a skirted toilet because you have to disassemble the toilet or lift it to get to the stupid water line at back. >:(

However, I have a question about the new mechanisms that are on the market that replace the old flappers.  They're found mostly on the push-button dual-flush toilets.  These are advertised as being more reliable, more durable, and less prone to leak.  I find in my own house that they're a bit more finicky (bad for the impatient, you really have to hold down the button for two solid seconds--I have some fancy-pants American Standard ones with the skirts and the ultralow flush and the nanofinish and all that jazz), but I haven't had enough experience with them to evaluate the claims for increased reliability and decreased leakage.  I changed my first flapper kit when I was a young teenager without even thinking about it, but I'm not sure how I'd change these fancy things. 

How expensive are they when they break? 

Do you need parts specific to that manufacturer, or can you get a standard kit like with the flappers? 

How long to they take to change out, and it is something that's super easy like the flapper, or is it hard? 

What is really the best option for a rental?  

This is what I'm currently planning on buying, unless the new flush mechanisms really are that great:  https://www.homedepot.com/p/Gl... 

Water costs are not a really factor here, BTW. A lot of the cost of water is just the base cost--$12.40 to read the meter and $21.29 for base sewer cost for 0-4,000 gallons.  Assuming we are over the 4,000 gallons, every 1,000 gallons costs $7.01.  With the wildly optimistic figure of a .92 gal average ultra low flow flush over the current 1.6 gal low flow as a baseline and 5 flushes per toilet per day with an inaccurate 365 days of occupancy, that's a "staggering" $8.70 saved per year per toilet for an ultra low flow toilet. With a more realistic alternative of 1.28 for the low flow, that drops to $4.60 per year.  At an even more realistic average of 1.1 per flush for the ultra low flow, we are at $2.30 per toilet per year.  I'm adding these figures because there are parts of the country where water prices are high and some people don't believe me when I say I don't care about ultra low flush for these properties.

[Jim K.]

@Genny Li

Hi again, Genny. We've been down this road a few times in the forums. A few months ago, @JD Martin recommended Project Source Pro-Flush toilets with all-Fluidmaster parts from Lowes. I was skeptical, but I suddenly needed to replace two out-of-budget, Lowes is right down the road, they were cheap, to make a long story short I went for it.

I can also enthusiastically recommend them. Really good toilet, top-quality flush, really low price.

Now, to address your questions about the mechanisms that replace old flapper flush valves. I have some experience with this with Kohler Category 5 Highline toilets and their canister valves.

How expensive when they break? Not too expensive. The canister valve on the Kohler's (replace the flapper flush valve) runs you over 20 bucks. Standard Fluidmaster flush and flapper, $12. The fill valves are interchangeable.

How difficult, time-consuming to replace? It depends on the toilet? Not all that bad, but not good.

Flapper mechanism is better, easier for rentals. Can't go wrong with the Lowes toilets.